Revolution counter casing



Feb- 13, 1951 v l.. E. HARPER` 2,541,161

REVOLUTION COUNTER CASING Filed Oct. 17, 1946 Imm" il 1 f Lil.

5&9. Z.

' INVENTOR.

LYNDUS E. HARPER Patented Feb. 13, 1951 UNIT E ES.. PATE-N T F F 1C E REYOLUTIQNiCOUNTEm CASING..

LyndsEHarper, Chicago, Ill.

Application October A17, 1.946,-Serial No.=703,880

2 Claims.. (Cl. 235.-1)

My; inventionv relates'y to revolution counter. casings; and moreV particularly to a sealed in.- tegrally unitedpcasing of plastic material.:

The plastic material that is, preferably,Y used j for making my improved revolution-counter cas: ing is a thermoplasticfmaterial, such asfPlexL glas or Lucite or'amaterial having similar properties as-Plexiglas` and Lucite and being transparent, or a thermo-,setting transparent plastic material mayfbe used..

Itis apurposeiofgmy invention to provide a'-` revolution counter casing of the above mentioned:

character, which is providedwith a: reading win;-A dow for reading. the numbers on the counter members that, preferably, magnifies .the figures and also gathers-'additional light.

It is particularly a purpose yof mir-invention to provide a casing of thev above mentioned V4character that is sealed together liquid or fluid tight and is not assembled by screws yor other holding means.

It is a further purpose of'my invention `to provide means for obscuringthefinterior mechanism ofthe revolution counterA from observation from the exterior thereof, by providing some form.of::

obscuring means over the other walls of the .revolution` counter casing than the window portion-- thereof. Preferably, this is accomplished by providing some roughening or -designon the inner surfaces of the walls whereby the same are rendered opaque or` translucent.

One of the important advantages of -my inven.

tion-is that arevolution counter casing can-be` made in this vmanner which is extremely low in-V cost .of production and which so mounts the revolutioncounter mechanism-as towprovide azlow cost of production for the entireA revolution counter. While'the drawingsillustrate a revolution` counter that is driven from the :right'side thereofgmyinvention contemplates the driving of the .revolution counter from either end and in either direction, it,.of course, being'unde'rstood' that the counter Wheels would have to carryl indicia in` accordance with the direction'ofrotation of the shaft so as toaddin the properdirection of rotation.

Other objectsand advantages of my invention will appear as the` description .of the, drawingsv4 proceeds. I desire Tto. have it. understood. however, that I do not intend. to..limit.rmyse1f tothe particular `details shown ordescribed, exceptas..

dened :in the, claims.

In thedrawings:

Fig. 1 is a..perspeotiveniview...of-fmyagimproved.

2. revolution" counter on. a somewhat enlarged scale:

Fig.2 is a vertical 'sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a section vof the revolution counter casing with the counting mechanisml omitted,

and

Fig-: 41is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modification.'

Referringin detail. to the drawings,` my im.- proved revolution counter casing comprises a body portion 5, which` has an end Wall I-that is substantially plane and a continuous'wall .that

extends perpendicular to said planeend wall 6 Y and is integral therewith;-the same being molded in one piece with therend wall. Said continuous wall, preferably, comprises a bottom wall i that is ilat or plane on itsrbottom face 8 and side` walls that have substantially vertical plane outer faces 9 and a curved top wall portion IB extending from the one vertical face to amore abruptlyv comprising a wall portion having a curved inner face I3 substantiallyfparallel to the outer face -of the curved top wall I0, and plane vertical faces I4 extending parallel to the vertical outer faces 9, downwardly from the curved face I3 to concavely curved shoulders I5 dening offsets between the plane faces I4 and plane vertical faces I6, which are connected with the flat inner face Il of the bottom wall 'I by concave'portions I3.y The chamber thus dened allows for clearance Y ofthe moving parts of the revolution counter, in# Y cludingfthe counter-wheels I9 and the drivingV mechanism 2U therefor, the same being `of a well.

known character.v The exact shapeof the chamber provided within the housing shown in the drawings may rbevaried so as to provide the de;

siredclearance for the moving parts of the revoe -lution counter and as nearly as possible-uniformwall thickness to obtain economy in productionv by? savingV infthe amount of rmaterial :embodied Vin. thebodyportionof saidcasing and reducing thecuring time vof the same in themold andalso 'ob-f -tain more .uniform curingthereofz However, their inner face of the wall portion I3 must extend to provide a curvature at I3 opposite the transversely curved rib I I so that the curvature of the rib II is sharper or of smaller radius than that of the wall portion I3 to thus give a magnifying and light concentrating quality to the transparent Wall portion 2I that has the outer surface of the rib II as its outer surface and the curved wall portion I3 as its inner surface.

The body portion of the casing thus comprises a hollow body having a continuous wall providing a chamber therein running lengthwise of said body portion and an integral end wall at one end thereof. To complete the integrally united transparent fluid tight sealed 'casing the end wall member 22 is provided, which is made of the same transparent plastic material as the body portion 5. Said end wall 22, preferably, has a projection 23 thereon on one face thereof that is of the shape of the opening in the body portion, as will be obvious from Figs. 2 and 3, the end face 24 of the body portion seating against a shoulder 25 provided between the outer periphery of the member 22 and said projection This provides simple means for aligning the end wall 22 with the body portion 5. The end wall 22 has the same general contour as the outer surface of the body portieri 5 and may include a bulge at 25 to align with the transversely curved longitudinally extending rib The end wall 6 of the body portion 5 prefer ably, provided with a boss 2i integrally' molded therewith and the end wall 22 is provided with a similar integrally molded boss 2S, said bosses 2 and 28 aligning with each other when the parts are assembled as shown in the drawings. Also each of said end walls 6 and 22 are provided with aligning bearing recesses 29 and in which bearings 3I are provided for the drive t 32, a

bore 33 of smaller diameter being also provided in the end wall fr' loosely receiving the end portion of the shaft 32 that extends beyond the bearing 3| mounted in the bearing opening 2s and a bore Sli is provided for the drive shaft extending through the wall 22 from the recess smaller than the bearing recess Sil, in which is mounted a suitable packing ring 3S that is of a character to provide a liquid or fluid tight seal around the shaft 32, by being clamped between the bearing 3| and the wall of the recess A counter shaft 3l is provided, upon which the counter members i9 are rotatable, the ends of the shaft 32 being mounted in suitable bearing :i2 and 352 provided in the end walls E and 22, said bearing recesses 33 and aligning with each other when the parts are in assembled relation.

It will be obvious that when the counter mechanism comprising the counter members IS mounted on the shaft 3l and the driving means. therefor, including the drive members 2li mounted on the drive shaft 32, are mounted Within the casing and the wall l2 put in position the parte` will be held in assembled by securement of the end wall 22 in fixed position relative to the body portion Thus the sealing of the end wall 22 to the body portion 5 will seal the counter mechanism within the and only the shaft 32 will be accessible from the exterior thereof. It of course, to be understood that the counter mechanism is of the usual cliaracter and only the gear or driving member 2G is fixed to the shaft 32, the other driving members 20 being freely rotatable on the shaft in the usual manner and each thereof beingvdriven by one counter member I9 to advance the next counter member the proper proportionate distance upon one revolution of the first mentioned counter member.

The body portion 5 and the end Wall member 22 are secured together so as to form an integral sealed liquid tight hollow body or casing either by means of heat and pressure or by the use of a suitable solvent cement, which will integrally unite the adjoining faces of the end wall 22 and the body portion 5 throughout their area of contact.

In order to prevent any confusion in reading the revolution counter and to simplify the reading of the same and at the same time hide the mechanism Within the same and thus improve the appearance thereof, means is provided for preventing the observer from seeing through any of the wall portions of the device into the interior thereof, except through the curved magnifying lens or rib portion I I. This may be accomplished in various ways, but preferably, is accomplished by providing a roughening, which may be in the form of any suitable design on the inner faces I3, I4, I5, I, I'I and I8 of the continuous Wall portion and also on the inner faces of the walls 6 and 22, il this is found to be desirable, the roughening being shown in Fig. l in perspective as being visible through the transparent portion of said `walls and the roughened surface of the curved face i3 of the inner face of the body portion being indicated by the numeral 4i), that of the vertical. Wall I4 by the numeral 4I, that of the vertical wall I6 by the numeral 42, and that on the inner face of the end wall 6 by the numeral Said roughening or design that is molded or otherwise provided on said wall portions as above set forth is of such an infinitesimal depth as compared with the size of the parts that it is not possible to show the same in Figs. 2 and 3 except by considerable exaggeration, and has thus been omitted therefrom. The portion I3 of the Wall I3 lying opposite the rib portion I I is not roughened, as will be obvious from Fig. 1 of the drawings.

All of the numerals on the various counter members i9 are not shown in the drawings, only the row of numerals that Will lie opposite the magnifying rib or window II being shown on the counter members II in Fig. 2. These are greatly enlarged by the magnifying wall portion or window I I in the form of a rib having a much more sharply curved outer wall than inner wall, as will be obvious by comparison of Fig. l of the drawings with Fig. 2 thereof. While the scale of l is somewhat enlarged, the difference in the scale is only a small fraction of the difference in size of the numerals as the same appear on the counter wheels and as the same appear through the window I I as shown in Fig. 1.

Instead of providing an integral end wall on the body portion 5 the body portion may be made shown in Fig. 4, in which the body portion 5 is shown as being open at the ends, thus forming a barrel-like member of uniform cross section throughout its length, which may be formed by extruding the same and cutting the same into desired lengths. Instead of providing one end wall 22, the end wall 22, which is made in the manner as previously described, and an end wall 22', which is similar to the end wall 22, are provided. The end wall 22 in the form of the invention shown in Fig. 4 is identical with the end wall 22 shown in Fig. 2, and the same reference numerals are applied thereto,

The end Wall 22' is provided with a projection 23', similar to the projection 23 on the end wall 22, being of the shape of the opening in the body portion which is the same as that in the body portion 5. The end face 2d of the body portion 5 opposite the end face 24 seats against a shoulder 25' on the end wall 22 corresponding to the shoulder 25 on the end Wall 22. This provides simple means for aligning the end wall 22 with the body portion 5.

The end wall 22 is also provided with a boss 2l, corresponding to the boss 21 of the end wall 6, which aligns with the boss 28 of the end Wall 22 when the parts are in the assembled position shown in Fig. 4, and has a bearing recess 25 aligning with the bearing recess 30 in the end wall 22, a bearing 3l being mounted in the recess 29 for the shaft 32. The carrying mechanism shown is the same as that previously described and a bearing recess 38 for the counter shaft 31 is provided in the end wall 22', Which aligns with the bearing recess 39 in the end wall 22.

The body portion 5' and the end walls 22 and 22 are secured together in the same manner as is the body portion 5 and the end wall 22 to provide an integrally united fluid tight sealed casing for the revolution counter and is, of course, provided with the Window in the body portion in the same manner as in the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive.

In both forms of the invention illustrated the parts that comprise the housing or casing are made of a plastic transparent material which may be either a thermo-plastic or a thermo-setting plastic. If the sections of the casing are made of thermo-plastic material the same may be integrally united by either heat and pressure or by means of a solvent cement. The two thermo-plastics specically mentioned are methyl methacrylates. Lucite parts may be integrally united by the use of Du Pont cement H-94 or ethylene-dichloride, and Plexiglas parts by means of Rohm and Haas Plexiglas cement No. 1A, or ethylene-dichloride. These plastics and their solvent cements are given only by way of example, as there are numerous other thermo-plastics and thermo-setting plastics commercially available that can be integrally united by means of commercially available solvent cements that have all the essential desirable characteristics required to accomplish the purposes of this invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a revolution counter, a plurality of rotatable counter members having indicia thereon and rotating about a common axis, means for rotating the same including a drive shaft, and a sealed integrally united transparent plastic housing for said counter members and said means for rotating the same having a tubular wall portion having an integral rib thereon extending parallel to the axis of rotation of said counter members, said rib having its outer surface curved about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said counter members to magnify the indicia on said counter members in alignment therewith, said housing having a bore therein through which said drive shaft extends, and means for providing a fluid tight seal around said shaft in said bore.

2. In a revolution counter, a plurality oi rotatable counter members having indicia thereon and rotating about a common axis, means for rotating the same including a drive shaft, and a sealed integrally united transparent plastic housing for said counter members and said means for rotat ing the same having an integral wall portion having its inner surface curved about the axis of rotation of said counter members and its outer surface curved about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said counter members to magnify the indicia on said counter members in alignment therewith, said housing having a bore therein through which said drive shaft extends, and means for providing a uid tight seal around said shaft in said bore, said housing being provided with means on the inner faces thereof for rendering all the wall portions thereof except said magnifying Wall portion opaque.

LYNDUS E. HARPER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 748,778 Nash Jan. 5, 1904 1,739,284 Boyce Dec. 10, 1929 1,848,587 Timson Mar. 8, 1932 1,947,618 Sawin Feb. 20, 1934 2,128,277 Young Aug. 30, 1938 2,320,946 Madden June 1, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 458,303 France 1913 

